Locomotive stoker



NOV. 1, 1927.

E. A. TURNER LOCOMOTIVE STOKER Filed July 8. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mw@Q5 l 647,159 Nov. 1, 1927. n E. A. TURNER s LOCOMOTIVE STOKER FiledJuly 8, 1926 3 Sheets-'Sheetn 3 liz/@THE 71. ZT Qrcdww Zeri/ze?distributor plate extendinginto Patented Nov. 1, 1927 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN ARCHER TURNER, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO LOCOMO-TIVE STOKER COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

LOCOMOTIVE s'roxER'.

Application led July 8, 1926. Serial No. 121,110.

The object of the invention is to provide 1o improved means for raisingthe fuel to the points of discharge upon the chutes which deliver to thetwo side portions of the dlstributor plate; to secure compactnessand tolimprove the location of the fuel elevator so as to avoid substantiallyall encroachment further obj ect is upon the areas of the backhead ofthe boiler which, as locomotives are now organlzed, are required for theemplacement of other essential devices such asgauges and the like. toprovide for the regulation of the two streams of fuel to facilitate thetrimmin of the fire.

While in 1ts details the invention maybe .variously embodied, adesirable, and so far as now advised, preferred form of construction ishereinafter `described and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings1n which Fig. 1 is a detail elevation of the rear end of a locomotivewith the improved stoker applied thereto, a portion of the latter beingshown in section and some portions of its internal construction beingindicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a detail central, longitudinal, vertical section of the rearend of the locomotive with the stoker applied thereto.

l Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on line 3-3 of- Fig. 2, some of the partsbeing omitted, and

Fig. 4 is a detail, partly in section, of the driving mechanism of theStoker.

A conventional form of backhead of the ,locomotive boiler is representedat 10 and is shown as being provided with the usual hand firing dooropening 11.; a portion -of the rate is shown at 12; and of thelocomotive l rame at 13. The deck of the cab is shown at 14. and atransfer conveyor for bringing. the fuel forward from the-engine tenderis shown at 15.

The conveyor 15 delivers into the lower end of an elevating conduit 16,to which it may be connected by a ball joint 17.

The conduit 16 is located on the longitudinal, median line of thelocomotive, and extends upwardly thru the deck 14 and substantiallyparallel with the backhead 10, from which it is spaced' a shortdistance. A pair of outwardly bowed conduits 18, 19 each ofsubstantially one-half the capacity of the conduit 16 extend upwardlyfrom the latter, and flank the re door opening 11. The open in-t-urnedends of they conduits 18, 19

are slightly within the side margins of the.

lire door opening and below its upper margin.

The box or casing 20, securely bolted to the backhead 10, encloses theopening 11 and is provided in its outer wall with a correspondingopening 2l, which may be closed by suitable doors, not shown. Theconduits 18, 19 may be cast integrally with the casing 20, as shown,their converging lower ends extending to the top of the conduit 16 andbeing securely bolted thereto.

Mounted within the casing 20 are a pair of chutes 22, one below the openend of each of the conduits 18, 19 and both being inclined downwardlytoward a distributor plate 24 which extends thru the opening 11 and intothe fire box of the boiler. These chutes are provided with stems 25, 26which are pivoted as shown at 27 wit-hin the casing 20 so that they mayswing laterally for the purpose of discharging fuel either adjacent tothe side margin of the plate 24 or to its middle portion. Power may beapplied in any suitable manner for causing the oscillation of thechutes, as thru a-control box 28, attached to the backhead 10 andcontaining mechanism whereby the application of such power may becontrolled and regulated. This mecha nism is not shown in detail for thereason that it is well known and does not constitute a part of thepresentinvention.

A dividing vane or plate 29 ispivotally mounted at the juncture of theconduits 18, 19, being carried by a spindle 30 journaled in the sidewalls of t ese conduits, from which it depends,and in eiect forms adownward continuation ofthe upper wall of each of the conduits andsplits the column of coal ascending thru the conduit 16 into twostreams. This vane may be adjusted by means of a crank arm 31 on theouter end of the spindle 30, and which carries at its outer end a stud32 cooperating with suitable apertures in a fixed quadrant plate 33.When swung laterally 1n either direction, the vane 29 cramps thereceiving end of one of the conduits 18, 19 and enlarges that of theother, thereby correspondingly varying the amount of fuel entering each.

The distributor plate 24 is secured in place in any desired manner. Inorder that it may be easily inserted and removed, it may be providedwith a backwarddy extending hooked arm 34 cooperating with a socketedlug 35 formed on the inner face of the bottom wall of the casing 20. Theforward end of the plate 24 rests by gravityx upon the lower margin ofthe opening 11, thru the medium of down standing flanges 36. An opening37 in the bottom wall of the casing 2O permits the entrance of air underthe plate 24 to protect the latter from the intense heat of the furnace.

Within the conduit 16, there is housed an elevating screw 38, the lowerend of its shaft 39 extending thru the bottom of the conduit andcarrying a worm gear 40. Power for driving the screw 38 and the transferscrew 41 is derived from a motor 42 which may be suitably mounted on theframe of the locomotive and below the deck thereof, its shaft 43extending transversely of the vehicle and being provided with worms 44,45 for engaging respectively the worm gear 40 and a worm gear 46, theshaft 47 of which is connected, in any suitable manner, with the shaftof the screw 41. The worm 45 is preferably sleeved upon the engine shaft43 and may be locked thereto by means of a clutch element 48 splinedupon the engine shaft and controlled by a shifter element 49 thru themedium of a crank arm 50 on the upper end of a rod 51 extending upwardlythru the deck 14.

The conduit 16 is provided with a removable panel 52 to give access tothe interior of the conduit for the purpose of removing any extraneousmatter which may enter with the coal and clog the machinery. This panelis preferably outwardly offset as plainly shown in Fig. 2 in order thatthe margin of the opening which it covers may serve as a shoulder tocheck the tendency of the ascendingr fuel to rotate with the elevatingscrew. The conduits 18, 19 are preferably given an oval form as shown inFig. 3 to check the tendency of the fuel to rotate within them.

Fuel brought forward by the transferring screw 41 is delivered directlyto the elevating screw 38 and thence into the two conduits 18, 19 thruwhich it is forced by the, pressure of the last namedscrew and fromwhich it is discharged upon the chutes 22, 23, and falling upon theplate 24 is projected therefrom and scattered over the area of a grate12 by means of steam jets issuing from a chest 53 which may be formedntegrally with the plate. Chest 53 is preferably divided into twocompartments to each of which leads from any suitable sources of supplysteam pipes 54, 55.

Should the bed of fuel on the grate become uneven by reason of an excessof fuel being delivered to one side of the fire box, the vane 29 may beshifted to diminish the supply to that side and increase it to the otherside of the fire box. Should a clogging occur, it will ordinarily becaused by 'the presence of extraneous matter, usually an iron fragment,wedging between the periphery of the elevating screw and the wall of theconduit. For the purpose of removing such object, the elevating screw isturned backwardly a short distance, and preferably before this action,the transfer screw 41 is stopped by disconnecting the clutch element 48from the worm 45.

r1`he upper end of the vane 29 fits within a pocket formed in theconduit wall, and at the juncture of the conduits 18, 19, the upper orpivotal end of the vane is thickened andl rounded, as shown at 60, 60,the sides of the pocket being correspondingly rounded, as shown at 61,61. The extreme upper surface 62 of the vane is flattened and spacedfrom the corresponding surface 63 on the conduit wall. This structurepermits the vane to be easily adjusted, preventing binding due to apocketing of coal between the vanes and the walls of the conduit andreduces the change in the wall structure lof the conduits when the vaneis adjusted to make an unequal division of the coal. Where there isample room, the flattening at 62 may be omitted and the complementalsurface of the vane and the wall may be made cylindrical thruout. Byflattening the surfaces as shown, greater clearance is afforded betweenthe vane and the fire door opening.

The box or casing 2O and the branch conduits form a unit that may bemade substantially uniform for a large number of locomotives while thestraight section of the elevator or the conduit 16 together with itselevating screw will vary in length with different locomotives.

The cool air passing thru the opening 37 along the under side of thedistributing plate ...nu Je' 25 wardly. at

branching outwardly from the upper end of the elevating conduit andcurved inwardly j .firing opening, a pair of conduits branchingoutwardly from the upper end of the elevating conduit and curvedinwardly at their uppeil ends, a screw within the elevating condui-t forforcing fuel therethrough andv through the pair of conduits, andswinging chutes receiving from the branching con duits and deliveringinto the firing opening.

3. In a Stoker for a locomotive having a backhead and a, firing openingtherein, in combination, an elevating conduit under the firing opening,elevating means within the conduit, a pair of upwardly inclined conduitsbranching outwardly from the upper end of the elevating conduit andcurved intheir upper ends, chutes receiving from the branching conduitsand delivering into the firing opening, and a dividing vane interposedbetween the lower ends of the branching conduits.

4. In a stoker for a locomotive having a backhead and a firing openingtherein, in combination, an elevating conduit under the ring opening,elevating means within the conduit, a pair of upwardly inclined conduitsbranching outwardly from the upper end of the elevating conduit andcurved 1nwardly at their upper ends, chutes receiving from the branchingconduits and delivering into thefiring opening, and an adjustabledividing vane interposed between the lower ends of the branchingconduits.

5. In a Stoker for a locomotive having a backhead with a firing openingtherein, the combination of an elevating conduit extending upwardlyalong the backhead below the firing opening, a pair of conduitsreceiving fuel from the first conduit, said pair of conduits divergingoutwardly below the firing opening and then curving upwardly and in.wardly to points adjacent to the top of the firing opening, elevatingmeans within the first conduit to force fuel thru the branch conduitsand distributing means receiving fuel from the branch conduits.

6. In a Stoker for a locomotive having a backhead with a firing openingtherein, the combination of an elevator casing including a singleconduit extending upwardly along the backhead and forkedto form twobranch conduits diverging below the firing opening then curving upwardlyand inward y and terminating adjacent to the upper part of the firingopening, an elevator Screw 1n the single conduit for forcing fuel thruthe branch conduits, and distributing means rcceiving fuel fromthe'branch conduits, said casing being divided below and adjacent to thefork and said screw terminating adjacent to the division.

7. In a Stoker for a locomotive having a backhead with a firing openingtherein, the combination of an elevator casing including a singleconduit extending upwardly along the backhead and forked to form twobranch conduits diverging below the firing opening, then curvingupwardly and inwardly and terminating adjacent to the upper part of thefiring opening a box secured to the backhead about the firing openingand inclosing the upper end portions of the branch conduits, an elevatorscrew in the single conduit for forcing fuel thru the branch conduits,and distributing means receiving fuel from the branch conduit, saidcasing being divided below and adjacent to the fork and said screwterminating adjacent to the division.

8. In a Stoker for a locomotive having a backhead and a firing openingtherein, the combination with an elevating conduit located below thefiring opening, a casing inclosing such opening and attached to theelevating conduit, such casing comprising a pair of branch conduitsreceiving from the elevating conduit and bowing outwardly, their upperends delivering into the chamber of the casing, and a screw within theelevating conduit for forcing fuel therethrough and through the branchconduits.

9. In a Stoker for a locomotive having a backhead with a firing openingtherein, the combination of a single elevator conduit eX- tendingupwardly along the backhead and forked to form two branch conduitsdiverging below the firing opening, then curving upwardly and inwardlyand terminating adjacent to the upper part of the firing opening, anelevating screw in the Single conduit for forcing fuel thru the branchconduits, said branch conduits being of non-circular cross section, anddistributing means receiving fuel from the branch conduits.

10.\The combination of a locomotive including a backhead having a firingopening communicating with the iirebox, a Stoker including a casinghaving a support adjacent to the lower portion of the firing opening, adistributor projecting into the irebox, a hook at the rear end of thedistributor adapted to engage the support and prevent forward movementof the distributor, and meanson the bottom ofthe distributor forengaging with the backhead at the'bottom of the ring door to preventrearward movement of the distributor.

11. The combination of a locomotive including a backhead having a firingopenmg communicating with the fireboX, a Stoker including a casinghaving a Support adjacent to the lower portion of the firing openbottomof the distributor coo erating with ing, a distributor including a plateprojectthe backhead at the bottom o the fire door ing through the firingopening into the`fireto prevent rearward movement of the dis- 10 box, ahook on the rear portion of the plate tributor.

5 engaging said support to prevent forward In testimony whereof I aix mysignature.

movement of the distributor and downward tilting of its front end, andlugs on the E. ARCHER TURNER.

